All About Beer Magazine

Beer Talk

San Miguel Dark

San Miguel Corp.
Manila, Philippines
Imported by: Logret Import & Export Co.
City of Industry, CA

Available: AK, AZ, CA, CO, CT, DE, DC, FL, GA, HI, ID, IL, IN, KY, ME, MD, MA, MT, NV, NH, NJ, NY, NC, OH, OR, PA, RI, SC, TN, TX, VT, VA, WA, WV, WI, WY,

San Miguel was founded in Manila in 1890, and is the headquarters for a large corporation that produces beer and many other food and beverage products.

Alcohol (wt.): 4
Alcohol (vol.): 5
Color: 12
Bitterness: 19
Gravity: 1052

• Fred Eckhardt

  This beer is rich and dark in color with a fine sounding head, smooth aromatics, and a mellow, enjoyable palate. It is not, however, anywhere near the San Miguel Dark I tasted in Manila in 1952, but very nice just the same, and one of my favorite beer types.

• Garrett Oliver

  This is a deep russet-brown beer with a fluffy amber head. The nose is a display of variations on sugar—butterscotch, caramel, treacle and molasses. Hops take a back seat on the palate, while sweet malts and dark sugar flavors play through the center. There’s just enough bitterness to keep it from cloying. It’s strayed a long way from its European roots, but I have a soft spot for this tropical style of dark lager: it has character. Try it with a spicy pork dish.

• Michael Jackson

  Rich, malty aroma. Creamy head. Mahogany color. Textured body. San Miguel (the Filipino original, not the Spanish offshoot) has always emphasised that it uses roasted malts rather than caramel coloring or “dark beer” concentrates The resultant brew is more assertive and characterful than many dark lagers, but has some oddly discordant flavors. Passion fruit? Coffee essence? The finish has a balancing dryness, but is strangely abrupt.